


little problems are actually big problems

by bloodyangel6666



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Crush at First Sight, Family Fluff, First Dates, First Meetings, Gen, I have no self control, Kagura is a sweetheart, M/M, Sorry Not Sorry, Swearing, The Author Regrets Nothing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25716082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodyangel6666/pseuds/bloodyangel6666
Summary: "Fuck yes." Sougo blurts out.The man gasps overdramatically. He frowns, crouches to Sougo's eye level and in the most serious tone asks, "What the fuck did you just say?"Gintoki and Kagura observe with bored expressions and fingers in their noses."Wow, you already teach your kid bad manners?"The man snaps to glare at Gintoki."As if you're one to talk."Sougo is 2 years older than Kagura instead of 4 for the sake of everything in the fanfic making sense while Hijikata and Gintoki keep their canon age.
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki, Kagura & Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 12
Kudos: 109





	little problems are actually big problems

Even if Kagura has monstrous strength and durability at the frail age of four, Gintoki finds her sulking and clutching her right arm when he comes to pick her up from the kindergarten's playground.

It's a pain in the ass, to be honest, but Gintoki is already used to Kagura's behavior after a year of looking after her. So he bends down- or at least tries to, but Kagura prevents him from doing so by hugging his leg. Gintoki sighs, but leaves her be.

"What happened?"

"The chihuahua pinched me again!" Kagura replies immediately and squeezes the life out of Gintoki's leg, almost stopping his blood flow.

He should have expected this. It wasn't like it was something new - that kid, Sougo, frequently pinched Kagura or pulled her hair. As they say, desperate times call for desperate measures, and thanks to Kagura's father being as overprotective as he was, Gintoki was able to teach Kagura how to defend herself. And of course how to get away from trouble if something happens, but surprisingly, Sougo has never told on her. Gintoki wasn't sure if that was good or bad news.

"Did you kick his butt?"

Kagura's sulking face is immediately replaced by a determined one as she looks up and nods fervently.

"A few times!"

Gintoki strokes his invisible beard and looks around. Sougo is sitting on a bench nearby and after a few seconds, a man with black hair and a jacket that strongly resembles a policeman's uniform walks up to him. Now that he thinks about it, Gintoki has never seen the person or people who pick up Sougo. That man and Sougo don't even look alike which is a bit strange. But then again, Kagura also doesn't look like Gintoki because she isn't his kid in the first place. Good thing that the teacher already knows that Gintoki is supposed to pick up Kagura while her father is absent(which is 24/7 except holidays). If she didn't, he would probably look as suspicious as that guy who came to take the brat who pesters Kagura. After watching Sougo be stubborn and refusing to go for a while, Gintoki makes up his mind and takes Kagura's hand before approaching the man.

"Yo. Are you Soichiro-kun's father?" He asks, calmly enough before he unleashes his ranting, Sougo-scolding and Kagura-praising for standing her ground.

"My name's Sougo." The boy corrects grumpily and crosses his arms.

The man next to him mirrors the pose and doesn't think twice before responding.

"Of course not. What makes you think that?"

Gintoki raises his eyebrows.

"Dunno, but that boy doesn't really look like you. It's kinda suspicious."

"I'm just taking care of a friend's brother." The man explains briefly with a sigh. "Also, that girl doesn't look like you either. That's suspicious too."

Oh. Fuck. He has a point. But Gintoki knows better than to panic because he already has his reasons for looking after someone else's kid, so he keeps up the mask of nonchalance.

"Er, yeah, she takes after her mother."

"Ah. I see. Then why doesn't she come to pick-"

"She's..." Gintoki trails off and points up to the sky. After all, he has to be a bit tactful around children. Nevermind the obscene words he would most likely use to describe Sougo's behavior towards Kagura to Sougo's… uh… guardian?

The man's eyes go wide a bit as he follows the direction in which Gintoki is pointing.

"Oh, sor-"

"No problem. I didn't even know her."

"...Huh? Wasn't she your-"

"Nope."

"Uh…"

"Chill, I'm just the babysitter. The day you see me with my own kid, it means the apocalypse is coming."

"Right…" The man clears his throat and extends a hand to Sougo. The latter takes it this time and rolls his eyes. The man doesn't look away from Gintoki. "Did Sougo do something?"

The grip on Gintoki's hand tightens, so he pushes back whatever he was about to reply with. Kagura's simple sign is enough to tell him that she is going to get in trouble too if he says something about the way she and Sougo 'play' with each other.

"Not at all." Gintoki finally says, but he is sure to give Sougo a brief warning look. "He's a good boy. Right, Sasaki-kun?"

"Fuck yes." Sougo blurts out.

The man gasps overdramatically. He frowns, crouches to Sougo's eye level and in the most serious tone asks, "What the _fuck_ did you just say?"

Gintoki and Kagura observe with bored expressions and fingers in their noses.

"Wow, you already teach your kid bad manners?"

The man snaps to glare at Gintoki.

"As if you're one to talk."

It was safe to say Hijikata hasn't ever seen such a chaotic and confusing person. Still, he finds the company of that man enjoyable, so he allows Gintoki to accompany him to the parking lot. He knows the way Sougo is, so for good measure, he carries him while Gintoki does the same with Kagura so that they don't fight. Hijikata opens the door to his car upon reaching it, but stops in his tracks when Gintoki speaks up.

"So, what's your name?"

"Hijikata Toshiro." Said man responds, without stopping to think that the other also hasn't introduced himself yet. He guesses that that's what follows, but he figures Gintoki is too unpredictable, judging by the semblance of a conversation they had.

"Cool. Does the name go along with a number?" Gintoki asks with a grin. He blinks away his sudden panic, tries to calm down his quick heartbeat and starts rehearsing his backup line in his mind - 'It's fine if you don't swing that way, I was just messing around.'

Hijikata falls silent. He doesn't even notice when Sougo almost slips from his arms to reach Kagura's hair and tug on it. He probably doesn't like being carried at this age and takes it out on someone else. Kagura bites Sougo's hand in response. Gintoki sees this, so he pauses his hyperventilating to say 'good job, Kagura'.

Finally, after a tense minute and a half, Hijikata snaps out of whatever daze he was in, and reaches to the headboard in his car to take a business card. A strange place for business cards, really, but Gintoki's attention is caught by the text on the card. It says 'Hijikata Toshiro, police detective' along with an address, e-mail and a phone number. Gintoki is thoroughly shocked, impressed and maybe a little scared and excited by his attempt to pick up a policeman. Though it's good that he doesn't get to use his backup line.

"Uh… S-should I be worried?" He stutters as he flicks his gaze between the card and the face of the man holding it.

"Depends." Hijikata replies with a half-smile. "Do you have anything to worry about?"

Gintoki huffs out a chuckle and lifts Kagura to sit on his shoulders before taking the business card and swiftly putting it in his pocket.

"Can't think of anything right now. But you know, Mr. Officer… I wouldn't mind it if you arrest me." Also thank goodness Kagura is still too young to catch on the underlying meaning of that last sentence. Hopefully Sougo doesn't get it too.

Hijikata's ears are red as the sun at sunset as he looks away and clears his throat.

"Uh, anyway, I should be going now."

"Yeah, we'll miss the drama at four." Sougo adds.

Gintoki nods and takes a step back, but lingers long enough to get a good look at Hijikata's backside when he bends down to leave Sougo in the backseat. After Hijikata sits in the driver's seat, he rolls the window down and gives a small wave to Gintoki.

"See you."

Gintoki and Kagura wave to Hijikata and Sougo. Sougo puffs his cheeks in response and sticks his tongue out until they're out of sight. Gintoki sighs and tilts his head back to look at Kagura who is currently holding on to his hair for support.

"Well, it seems they like us."

To his confusion, Kagura pouts, looking like she's about to cry.

"I don't want the scary man to arrest you, Gin-chan. Who will buy me sukonbu if he arrests you?"

Gintoki smiles and looks forward again as he starts making his way to his apartment. Damn, he underestimated her ability to understand grown-up talks. At least she understood it literally.

"It was a joke. But whatever happens, I'll always buy you sukonbu."

Kagura giggles happily and starts swinging her feet. Gintoki catches them before he receives a bruise or two.

"Then I want sukonbu now!"

Gintoki rolls his eyes.

"The magic word?"

Red hair and a pair of big blue eyes obstruct his vision as Kagura drawls in a sweet voice 'please?'. Gintoki smiles.

"Okay, that's more like it."

Only after they reach his apartment and Kagura settles on the couch to watch TV does Gintoki realize that he completely forgot to introduce himself to Hijikata.

He paces around the apartment, chugs down half a carton of strawberry milk, then takes the business card out and types the number in his phone. His fingers are trembling slightly, so he gulps the rest of the milk for courage before sending a text.

**Yo, it's me, Kagura's babysitter who also goes by the name Sakata Gintoki(I kinda forgot to tell you)**

After a minute, his phone dings with a notification.

**So you remembered, huh. I was just about to do a background check on you.**

**Ahahahaha, that's funny**

**Wait**

**You're not serious, are you??**

**;)**

**What does that mean?!?**

**Relax, I'll settle on interrogating you at… hmm**

**How does tonight, 9:00, at that restaurant two blocks down from the kindergarten sound?**

Gintoki chokes on his own saliva. Did he just- Invite him on a date...?

**Sure, yeah. See you there**

**See you.**

Wow, okay. So he has a date. That's cool. Very cool. Really really very cool especially because the date is a hot police officer. Gintoki almost faints, but thankfully, Kagura saves him by shouting 'Gin-chan, I need more sukonbu!... Please!'. That successfully distracts him for the minute he needs to get a box of sukonbu from the kitchen area and bring it to Kagura in the living room.

The drama at four is on and an hour has already passed since its beginning. Gintoki takes another minute to wonder how such a young kid enjoys watching things like this. Then, his thoughts derail and take a turn to Hijikata again. What is he even supposed to do on a supposed date? He doesn't go on dates! That's reserved for sappy romantic types of people which he is not at all! So does that mean that Hijikata is the sappy romantic type? Pff, of course not. He seems perfectly normal. Besides, sappy and policeman doesn't sound like a good combination. Rough and policeman sounds much, much better. Ah, but there is a four year old kid next to him, so he should throw away every dirty thought before it slithers its way into his mind. He can't keep his attention on the drama for long, so he settles on singing something quietly and tapping his foot on the floor with the beat. This earns him a questioning look from Kagura.

"Gin-chan, why are you singing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'? It isn't bedtime yet."

"Ah, really now?" Gintoki feigns surprise, as if he didn't know already that bedtime is three hours later. And another hour later it's (hopefully) _bed_ time for him. "I was just rehearsing it. You know, I have to warm up beforehand if you don't want your ears to bleed."

Kagura is obviously still confused, but she nods and looks back at the TV. Gintoki slumps down on the couch and leans his head on the backrest. He stares at the ceiling now because of the lack of better entertainment, no thanks to today being Friday and the weekly Jump coming out on Monday. He quickly thinks of another plan - ask Kagura for some advice because why the fuck not? Four year olds, especially this one, usually have the brightest ideas.

"Hey, Kagura. What do you do if you like someone?"

Kagura munches on her sukonbu a bit more before replying.

"I tell them they're grease. Or I just squeeze them really, really hard - Papi did that to Mami sometimes. And Mami punched him after that."

Gintoki furrows his eyebrows, the cogwheels in his brain turning and abruptly stopping when he fails to make sense of Kagura's response. Maybe it was a bad idea to seek help from a kid after all.

"Uh… Wait. Do you mean 'great'?" He hesitantly asks, pointedly avoiding to raise a question about the squeezing because who knows what three year old Kagura saw her parents doing.

Kagura mulls it over for a few seconds, then shrugs.

"Dunno. It sounds better than sixy." She practically spits the last word with a puzzled expression. Again, Gintoki doesn't want to know what Kagura means, but she delves further in the subject, much to his dismay. "What's it even mean?"

Gintoki keeps his composure by sticking a finger in his nose.

"It means someone is six feet tall."

Kagura mouths an 'oh' and nods a few times with a serious face, probably imitating an adult as usual.

"I see. So are you sixy?"

"The sixiest of them all." Gintoki replies. He hopes that the day when Kagura realizes her mistake never comes.

That talk was a good distraction, but as the minutes pass and the drama ends, immediately being replaced by an animation, Gintoki can't help but think about that date(?) in a few hours. He suddenly comes to a realization and takes his phone out to send a message to Hijikata.

**Now that I think about it, isn't that restaurant kinda expensive?**

Again, he receives a reply after a minute.

**I was the one who asked you out, so I'm paying.**

Aw, such a sweetheart~ Wait, huh? Get your shit together, Gin-san!

Sure, the man is nice, but that doesn't mean that Gintoki is going to swoon like a schoolgirl upon seeing her crush. That's right, he only likes it because he needs the money he has now for Jump, strawberry milk, parfaits, chocolates, sake- and food for Kagura of course! Not that he will tell Hijikata that. The possibility of splitting the bill also crosses his mind, but Hijikata has already come to the conclusion of paying himself, so there isn't a problem.

**By the way, do you live far? I could give you a lift if you want.**

Before he could stop himself, he types in his address because who the hell refuses a free dinner _and_ a free lift? This time, Hijikata sends a thumbs-up emoji which annoys Gintoki a bit, but he waves it off. After another couple minutes of having a kids animation as background noise, he remembers that Kagura must be hungry already and the sukonbu isn't a good solution, so he goes to the kitchen area and puts his apron to use.

Their routine continues with Kagura pointing out the color of the apron, followed by Gintoki's response that 'Pink is not a girly color, in fact, it's badass. You should know that with having so much pink clothes'; having dinner after the problem with colors is settled; reading Jump together for the fifth time this week because Kagura easily loses track of the mangas' storylines; taking a shower; teeth-brushing; hair-brushing; and finally, bedtime. Gintoki refrains from screaming in joy as he tucks in the girl. He usually isn't that excited to finish his work for the day, but he has a special occasion today after all. As always, he is forced to sing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' because if he doesn't, his hair is going to take a lot of pulling and he doesn't want to go bald like Kagura's father - the mere thought of it makes him shudder.

As he stands up from the bed to go out of the room, Kagura stops him by taking his hand. She looks up with sleepy pleading eyes.

"Gin-chan."

Gintoki looks at her over his shoulder.

"Hm?"

"You forgot the forehead kiss."

Gintoki slaps himself mentally before Kagura does so physically, and bends down, giving a peck to her forehead.

"There. Good night, sleep tight-"

"And don't let the bed bugs bite." Kagura finishes before yawning and closing her eyes. "Good night, Gin-chan."

The sight is so cute that, for the three hundred and sixty-fifth day, Gintoki inwardly chants a mantra of 'don't cry'. Once again, it proves successful. He simply smiles and turns the lights off on his way out. He makes sure to be as quiet as possible as he walks into his room, changes his clothes into something more presentable than his usual T-shirt and sweatpants, and goes out. After doing a triple-check that the door is locked, he descends the stairs to the first floor and exits the building.

The clock on his phone says 8:59 pm. So he is just on time, that's perfect. But not as perfect as the familiar car that parks in front of him at exactly 9:00. He doesn't know what face he's making, but he hopes he doesn't smile like a lovestruck girl as he circles the car and hops in the passenger seat.

Hijikata lights a cigarette and greets Gintoki with, "You didn't close the door all the way. Also put on the seatbelt."

"Good evening to you too, Oogushi-kun." Gintoki mumbles under his breath. Nevertheless, he does as instructed.

"Oi, who the fuck is Oogushi?" Hijikata demands, more than asks. One glance at Gintoki's grin, and he decides against questioning the guy's antics. Instead, he focuses his attention on the road. Though he still feels like a mood-killer, so he adds after a minute, "Anyway, good evening… I guess." 'It became good when you came' swirls around in his mind for some reason, but he shakes it off. "So uh, you got someone to look after your kid for tonight pretty quick, huh?"

"She's not my kid." Gintoki corrects and rolls his eyes. "And no, why? Should I have called someone?"

Hijikata tries hard not to gasp in surprise and glare at Gintoki.

"Uh, obviously? How can you be so calm leaving her alone then? What kind of babysitter are you?"

"Eh, she's fine." Gintoki lifts a hand to his ear, but stops at the last moment. After giving it a second thought, he does what he intended to do. After all, if Hijikata has taken a liking in him, he will overlook the bad habits- not that cleaning your ears and nose regularly is a bad habit! "Besides, she sleeps like a log and the door is locked, so everything's okay."

Hijikata sighs, already starting to question himself why he had to ask that guy out. From what he saw until now, Gintoki is mainly annoying, but there's a certain charm to him that Hijikata can't explain.

When they reach the restaurant, Hijikata moves to get out of the car, but stops upon seeing that Gintoki obviously doesn't have an intention to even take his seatbelt off. They stare at each other for a few seconds before Hijikata breaks the silence.

"What are you waiting for?"

Gintoki masks his anxiety for actually going on a date(because yes, he's still nervous and his current coping mechanism is flirting) with feigned nonchalance.

"I just remembered that earlier today I got an ad saying there are beauties in my area, and I was wondering if you live somewhere around here too."

Hijikata is definitely taken aback by the unexpected pick-up line(?). He hopes he doesn't show it, but his face heats up immediately.

"Um… I don't think I want to know which website you got that ad from. Anyway- Let's go."

Gintoki smirks at himself and gets out of the car, now with newly-found confidence that, apparently, he can easily make Hijikata flustered. Hijikata follows, and they make their way in the restaurant and right to a secluded spot as they both wordlessly agree that they don't want people to watch them, much less hear them. It's quite assuring to know that Hijikata doesn't need to spell out 'reputation'. Neither does Gintoki need to spell out 'nervous'. So they settle on opposite sides of the table and start to talk once the waitress leaves them menus. Gintoki constantly makes jokes, mainly innuendo-filled, about Hijikata being a policeman, but something leads them to talking about 'their' kids, and Gintoki spills the beans after a few cups of sake.

"I don't know what's in the mind of six year olds, but that kid either really likes Kagura or really hates her. She says he always pulls her hair, pinches her, etcetera. You know, childish things." Gintoki explains while waving around a spoonful of parfait(he also has already made sure to say that 'he's still a boy at heart, and besides, he already had dinner at home' when Hijikata gave the sweets a confused and maybe a tad bit criticizing look). "Seriously, I had to get through the trouble of teaching Kagura how to throw a few punches. Which was probably a mistake because I'm the one who receives them sometimes."

Hijikata listens intently. He hums in acknowledgement and takes a bite of his mayonnaise-covered food('oi, what do you mean, dog food?! Everything's tastier with mayo!' to which Gintoki had replied with 'not with this much though. -Ah, I'll have three strawberry and chocolate parfaits').

"He most likely likes her. I don't know. As far as I know, that's the first person he's shown interest in, besides his sister." He pauses for a second, then scowls. "Wait- Throw punches? Why the hell are you teaching a young girl that?"

"Self-defense!" Gintoki replies immediately with his mouth full and the spoon sticking out of his mouth. "Isn't it obvious? Didn't you learn that in the police academy?"

Hijikata huffs and rolls his eyes.

"Of course. It's just…" After thinking it over for a bit, he comes to the conclusion that it's for the better that Kagura can defend herself from such a frail age because everything could happen. His expression softens a bit at the realization. "No, actually you're right."

Gintoki grins and finishes his third parfait in a few more bites.

"I know. I'm not so bad at this after all." To prove his point, he takes his phone out and opens an app that shows a security camera footage. "See? It's not like I don't know what's going on at home while I'm gone."

Hijikata raises his eyebrows and nods.

"I see. You get a point for taking good care of a kid. _But,_ you know, there's still other ways to get along with Sougo besides throwing punches."

Gintoki puffs his chest out proudly at the praising, but quickly regains his previous posture upon realizing that being around a kid every day has influenced him to act like one.

"Like what?"

Hijikata opens his mouth, but his phone rings before he can answer.

"Sorry, it's my boss. I have to take it." He mumbles as he takes his phone and picks up. "He-... Wh- What do you mean he doesn't want to?" He frowns and looks at Gintoki for a second before averting his gaze to glare at the wall next to them. "Kondo-san, just- _Calm down_ and give me Sougo. -Yes, a negotiation. Exactly." He waits for a bit, and then even Gintoki can hear the boy greeting Hijikata with 'die, Hijikata-san'. Said guy isn't fazed by it at all. "When I do, I'll come back to haunt you until you go to bed. I don't care if it's Saturday tomorrow. And be good to Kondo-san, okay?"

Gintoki doesn't know whether he should laugh or be scared for Hijikata's life, so he refrains from showing emotions. Though Hijikata doesn't seem concerned by Sougo's obvious hatred towards him. On the contrary, he looks amused, if that ghost of a smile counts as being amused. And now that Gintoki sees that, he can't stop looking at Hijikata's lips. He suddenly becomes very aware of even the slightest movement they make when he speaks. It looks too tempting, but for now he settles on sneaking a hand under the table and on top of Hijikata's thigh. No one can really see them, but Gintoki still makes his actions inconspicuous. While he traces the muscles there, Hijikata hangs up, looks down for a second, then returns his attention to Gintoki.

"Oi, what are you-"

Thanks to being in a state between tipsy and drunk(but more like definitely drunk), Gintoki has enough guts to smile and continue on his way to the inner side of Hijikata's thigh.

"I was thinking that maybe we could put some handcuffs to use. It would be fun."

Hijikata blinks his confusion away at the sudden change in atmosphere. Not that he doesn't like it - it's quite the opposite. However, he doesn't want to rush anything, so he carefully removes Gintoki's hand from his leg. After that, he's stuck in an inner battle with himself to try and shake off the lingering warm feeling.

"Not tonight." After a brief pause he adds, "You know, we barely know each other and…"

"And?" Gintoki repeats, his smile unwavering. "It's more interesting this way, ain't it?"

Hijikata downs his glass of water to ease his suddenly dry throat. Gintoki has a point, but he refuses to acknowledge it. He prefers to stick to his plan - save the best for last. So, having already paid the bill, he stands up and nods towards the door. Gintoki's lips stretch in a grin as he gets up too and follows Hijikata out.

They get in the car and without much said, Hijikata drives to Gintoki's apartment. As it isn't that far, he stops after a few minutes and turns to Gintoki to say something… only to receive a pair of lips on his own. Hijikata barely realizes it when one of Gintoki's hands cups the side of his neck while the other plops down on his thigh again. He returns the kiss, but pulls back as soon as Gintoki tries to use his tongue too.

The latter makes a disgruntled sound and inches forward again, but Hijikata allows just a peck on the lips before saying, "Go home. You don't want your kid waking up to an empty home, right?"

Gintoki pouts and looks away.

"You're no fun, Oogushi-kun."

Hijikata stops himself from responding with 'who the hell is Oogushi' again. Instead he rolls his eyes and steps out of the car before opening the door to Gintoki's side.

"Come on now. Which floor are you on?"

Gintoki grunts, mumbles a 'four' and slumps into his seat. Before he thoroughly resembles a puddle, Hijikata catches his arm and lower back and pulls him out. Gintoki is obviously ready to go to sleep already, but Hijikata talks to him to assure he stays awake as if he is suffering from bloodloss to the point of fainting. Thankfully, he still walks normally(that is, with Hijikata's support) until they reach the fourth floor and stop in front of one of the doors there.

And then, Gintoki stops moving again. Hijikata takes on the task to look for keys by patting Gintoki's pockets. He is used to searching people for drugs and weapons, so he isn't fazed by that, but hearing Gintoki's gasp when he reaches the back pockets of his jeans catches him by surprise. This also makes him realize that he already felt a bulge in one of the front pockets- oops, wait, wrong bulge, take a detour to the left- and there they are. He sighs in relief as he pulls a keychain with two keys out. One of them is obviously a vehicle's key, so it's not hard to figure out which one unlocks the door to the apartment.

Once in, the problem is finding Gintoki's room. One of the doors has a sign saying 'Ka ~~ts~~ gura' so it's obviously not it. Hijikata ponders on the fact that apparently the girl is moved in with him, but it's no use to ask about it now. Two doors down, there is another sign that says 'Gin-chan's office'. Hijikata deadpans at the nickname, as well as the strange need of a babysitter to have an office. Again, he can't question it right now. The remaining three doors are possibly a bathroom, a kitchen or living room and a closet, so Gin-chan's office must be the goal. It definitely is, Hijikata confirms when he opens the door to see a bed, a desk and a wardrobe. Though before he can take a step in, something bumps on the side of his leg. He looks down, and even in the dark he can see the red hair which gives him a reasonable explanation.

"Gin-chan-" Kagura starts, then gasps upon looking up at Hijikata. Her drowsiness is immediately replaced by full-on attack mode. Hijikata keeps the girl at bay by holding her by the forehead, all the while trying to keep Gintoki standing upright with his other hand. "What are you doing? Don't arrest Gin-chan!"

Gintoki bursts out laughing at the misunderstanding. Thankfully, that makes Kagura stop her attempts to hurt Hijikata, and it gives the latter time to explain.

"I'm not here to arrest him. You see, your Gin-chan has been a bit irresponsible, so I'm just dropping him off here."

"Nothing to worry about, Kagura." Gintoki adds, trying hard to sound as sober as possible. "Mr. Officer is re~ally nice to Gin-san. Ain't that right?"

Kagura seems to understand, but she squints and points two fingers at her eyes, then redirects them to Hijikata. The latter nods in apprehension and raises a hand in defeat. Just when he thinks that Kagura is going to leave them alone, she moves on to the other side to grab Gintoki's hand.

"Gin-chan, I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you?"

And there went Gintoki's hopes to have somebody else to sleep with him. He does his best in standing and walking normally to see Hijikata off after the latter lets him go and moves away. He motions to Kagura to go in his room, saying that he will come in a bit, and turns to Hijikata the moment she's out of sight.

"So uh…" Hijikata lowers his voice to a whisper. "Are you going to be fine?"

Gintoki nods.

"Sure. But only when you tell me if you're free tomorrow."

Hijikata's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. That is quickly replaced by an amused smile.

"The day after. I'll text you for details."

Gintoki hums in agreement and grabs Hijikata's collar to pull him closer. Their lips meet halfway, but they make it quick because of Kagura being a few steps away from them. Hijikata mutters a 'bye' and walks back down and out of the building. He is just about to start his car when he receives a message.

**Good night, sixy**

He frowns in confusion. Is this a typo? If it is, then his suspicions that Gintoki is a flirty drunk are confirmed. If it isn't, well… what is it?

**Uh.**

**Typo?**

**Nope**

**;)**

**…What does that mean?**

Then, he realizes. It's payback for his own playing around from earlier. He chuckles and types in a response.

**Good night, permhead.**

Oh, and he is definitely going to hear the story behind 'sixy'.


End file.
